STEP UP IN FAITH Capital Stewardship Campaign 2009 Thank you, Father.

Stewardship Time Talent Treasure A way of life for all who are baptized in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit We are called to share a portion of the gifts God has given us… Time Talent Treasure Stewardship is a way of life for all of us who are baptized. As thankful and faithful stewards of the gifts God has given to each one of us, we are called to share a portion of these gifts: gifts of our time, gifts of our talent and gifts of our treasure. St. Francis of Assisi challenged us when he said, “For it is in giving that we receive.” “For it is in giving that we receive.” St. Francis of Assisi

Stewardship Today’s focus is on our gifts of treasure We need to continue with the work of completing Phase I of our Stairway to the Future We need to pay off our loan to the Diocese of Lansing As you are aware from recent church communications, we need to continue with the work of completing Phase I of our Stairway to the Future. We need to retire our capital debt…We need to pay off our loan to the Diocese of Lansing.

Climbing the Stairway to the Future Hundreds of you in our parish family dedicated your time and talent to preparing our plan 2002 Purchased 46 acres of land Stairway to the Future Committee & Consulters 2003 I – The Church II - Classrooms Parish Hall Offices Phased Approach 2000 VOICES Our success to date is the result of the dedication of hundreds of our parish family members doing the work of planning and preparing for our future. Through Voices sessions in 2000, the consulter sessions, and the Stairway to the Future Committee, we defined how our new house of prayer would be shaped. When our 46 acre site was purchased, we defined what our future would really look like, foreseeing the building of our church followed by classrooms, a parish hall and offices.

Ceremonial groundbreaking Feast of St. Joseph 2005 was marked by the groundbreaking ceremony on March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph. 2005 Ceremonial groundbreaking Feast of St. Joseph

Construction began in 2006. 2006 Construction begins

2008 Church Dedication Ultimately, the new St. Joseph Church building was completed in 2008 and dedication took place on March 15th of that year.

Let us move forward together, with faith in our future and in God’s will. From our Dedication, Bishop Mengeling’s remarks reminded us that we are called to move forward together, with faith in our future and in God’s will.

ClassroomsParish Hall Offices The Big Picture Religious Ed House Parking Festival Building Our New Church Future plans More Parking ClassroomsParish Hall Offices Land & Infrastructure Illustrated on this slide is the site plan for St. Joseph’s unified campus. Completed items are shown in the blue circles, and include: acquiring the land and installing all necessary infrastructure; providing plenty of parking space; constructing and occupying our new place of worship; renovating and utilizing the on-site house for religious education; and, building the festival kitchen and pavilion in time for its use at our first “Festival at the Corner,” this July. This pavilion was provided through the work of parishioners and the Dexter Knights of Columbus Council #2959. The areas shown in orange are Phase II which will be our work in the future.

What do we have? So what have all of us received from all of your sacrificial giving of time, talent and treasure over these past years?

A beautiful, new worship space We have a beautiful, new worship space with barrier-free access and seating for 750.

Increased weekly Mass attendance Increased mass attendance and increased growth in church membership. Increased weekly Mass attendance

Large & vibrant Gathering Space We have a large and vibrant gathering space that allows the “living stones” of the church…us, the parishioners… to participate in fellowship with each other. The space provides a warm and welcoming atmosphere for all who come to our Church. Large & vibrant Gathering Space

Enlarged liturgical music space We also have an enlarged liturgical music space for our talented musicians to praise God with their musical gifts.

46 acres on which to grow Finally, we have 46 acres on which to complete our Phase II goal of a unified campus.

A warm and welcoming, unmistakably Catholic Church We have a warm and welcoming, unmistakably Catholic Church.

Successes & Miracles $3.1 million: Stairway to the Future $1.6 million: Called to the Next Step MIRACLE FUNDS $1.3 million: Estates & memorials $657,000: Art & environment $400,200: Festivals 2003-2009 $190,000: Contributions in excess of pledges $130,000: Various parish fundraisers $108,000: “Corner” property tree sales On this journey, through generous giving of your treasure, the Stairway to the Future and Called to the Next Step campaigns were successful. $ 4.7 million has been received to date. In addition, we have received “Miracle funds” of over $2.7 million from: parishioner estates and memorials, Art & Environment, festivals, contributions in excess of pledges, various fundraising activities including silent auctions, community rewards programs, and cookbook and statue sales, and “corner” property tree sales.

Where We Are Total project cost-to-date $12 million Total revenues-to-date -$7.8 million Total debt (loan w/Diocese) $4.2 million The total cost to complete all of these items was $12 million. $7.8 million has been raised to-date, leaving a balance of $4.2 million in debt that we owe the Diocese of Lansing. Paying off our loan will immediately reduce our interest expense, and allow the Diocese to start helping other parishes financially. We aren’t ready yet, but when we finally pay off our loan, we can start thinking and planning the 2nd phase of our Stairway effort.

Step Up In Faith Capital Stewardship Campaign What we need from you Carefully consider the information provided to you Prayerfully reflect on how God is calling you to stewardship To pay off the loan to the diocese, we have embarked on the next step of our Stairway to the Future with the Step Up In Faith Capital Stewardship Campaign. Here’s what we need from you, beginning today, and for the next few weeks. Carefully consider all of the information provided to you, today and in the near future. Prayerfully reflect on how God is calling you to stewardship. How is He calling you to share your gifts of time, talent and treasure in this campaign?

Step Up In Faith Capital Stewardship Campaign What we need from you Accept invitations to join a Capital Stewardship Campaign team Determine your level of sacrificial giving for the upcoming Commitment Weekend on November 7/8 Accept an invitation to participate on any of the Capital Stewardship Campaign teams. You can also volunteer by contacting Monica Szymusiak in the parish office. Through your prayer over the next few weeks, seek to determine the level of sacrificial giving you will be willing to commit, during the upcoming Commitment Weekend on November 7th and 8th.

Why Now? Income from our contributions to the first two campaigns ends December 2009 Income from our contributions to the first two campaigns ends December 2009 We still need to make regular loan payments to the Diocese of Lansing We still need to make regular loan payments to the Diocese of Lansing Why try to raise money now?” It’s really pretty simple. We made pledges in the Called to Next Step Campaign that spanned a three-year period that ends December 2009. After that, we won’t have the money to make our loan payments to the Diocese. Because the Diocese of Lansing is not a bank, it needs our money so that it can respond to the needs of other parishes in the Diocese. It cannot be expected to wait until we decide we can pay them back. It is clear from reading the weekly bulletin, we cannot meet these loan obligations from our offertory contributions. So, there really isn’t any choice. We cannot meet these loan obligations from our offertory contributions

His Kingdom here on earth And Remember It’s not just about paying off debt It’s really about… Doing the work of God, the work of building His Kingdom here on earth This may sound like its all about money, but it’s not. It’s about having a place to bring God’s people together in worship and love, not just for today but for many decades to come. It’s about providing for our children and their children. It’s about inspiring others through sights, sounds and interaction with people in a loving Christian community. It’s really about doing the work of God here on earth.

Step Up In Faith Capital Stewardship Campaign “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12:34 “For it is in giving that we receive.” St. Francis of Assisi During the next few weeks of prayer and discernment, consider the following: First, the quotation in Luke 12:34, where Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Second, the words of St. Francis of Assisi: “For it is in giving that we receive.”

Step Up In Faith Capital Stewardship Campaign Keep in Mind… Place your absolute trust in God Not Equal Gifts, but Equal Sacrifice Third, particularly during these uncertain economic times, the challenge is to let go of making decisions that give top priority to our own self-interests, and to make conscious choices to place our absolute trust in God. (speak very slowly here) Lastly, this campaign asks each family to make a three-year sacrificial commitment…a pledge according to their means. No one will be pressured to give. No one will be told how much they should give. The campaign seeks: Not Equal Gifts, but Equal Sacrifice.

Bishop Kenneth Untener “We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.” Bishop Kenneth Untener I would like to leave you with a final quote from Bishop Kenneth Untener. “We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.” Our village church reminds us of the seeds that were planted by our parish ancestors over 150 years ago. Later generations of Catholics watered these seeds by constructing additional buildings, thus creating a unified campus in the village. As St. Joseph parishioners, we have all benefited from their sacrifice of time, talent, and treasure. Our new church reminds us of the seeds sown by present parishioners who undertook the construction of our new church…just a few years ago. These seeds need to be watered, too.

STEP UP IN FAITH Capital Stewardship Campaign 2009 In this campaign, parishioners are being called to stewardship…to Step Up In Faith to make a sacrificial gift of treasure… knowing that the seeds that have been sown on our new church campus also “hold future promise.” Thank you for your attention and God bless you. DO NOT READ TO PARISH: (Father will invite people to stay in the pews after mass for a question and answer session. Please plan to stay after mass to help field these questions.)